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LAST UPDATE | 18 May
AUSTRIA’S JJ HAS won the Eurovision Song Contest with his pop-opera ballad Wasted Love, narrowly beating Israel into second place after the scores were announced at the end of tonight’s Grand Final.
The 24-year-old from Vienna had been one of the favourites and his victory means the contest is set to be held in an Austrian city for its 70th edition next year.
Israel had not been among the most hotly-tipped acts to win the contest outright but were expected to do well and had been placed as high as seventh favourites by the bookies in advance of tonight’s decider. They finished fifth last year.
The buildup to the Eurovision had been dominated for the second year running by criticism of Israel’s continued inclusion. RTE were among a group of national broadcasters calling on contest organisers the European Broadcasting Union to facilitate a debate on the matter.
The union – essentially an umbrella body of national broadcasters – has consistently argued that the country is entitled to take part as the Israeli broadcaster, Kan, is an EBU member.
The result – announced by the hosts of the finale at the St Jakobshalle arena in Basel – was determined, as usual, by a combined vote from viewers and professional juries in each participating country.
Israel had moved to the top of the leaderboard as the final round of voting, the results from viewers, was announced and other hotly tipped acts from the likes of Finland, Sweden and France fell by the wayside.
JJ and Israeli singer Yuval Raphael were shown on a split screen, and as the Austrian’s final tally was confirmed he shot to the top of the leaderboard and knocked Israel into second place.
It’s Austria’s first Eurovision victory since Conchita Wurst won 11 years ago.
Estonia’s Tommy Cash came in third with his oddball song mocking Italian stereotypes, followed by Sweden’s KAJ with their earworm tribute to the Nordic sauna.
Italy, Greece, France, Albania, Ukraine and Switzerland rounded out the top ten, with the UK’s Remember Monday placing 19th out of the 26 finalists and veteran DJ Gabry Ponte finishing bottom for San Marino.
The Irish jury votes were announced by Westlife singer and former Eurovision contestant Nicky Byrne with the panel’s douze points awarded to the eventual winners and seven points to Israel.
Viewers in Ireland awarded ten points to Israel and their 12 points to Poland. Televoters in Ireland also awarded Israel ten points last year.
Ireland were not competing in tonight’s finale after being knocked out at the semi-final stage on Thursday night. Norwegian singer Emmy Kristiansen said in the wake of her early departure that she had been honoured to be chosen to represent Ireland and that she was “so sorry” to be exiting early.
We’ll find out later today where Ireland placed in the semi-final as the EBU releases the full scores from the Tuesday and Thursday night shows.
The contest was being held in Switzerland after Nemo won the contest last year with their gravity-defying performance of The Code in Malmö.
The Swiss singer returned to the Eurovision stage during the final to perform a rendition of their 2024 winner in a full-length white dress, following an opening sketch which saw a Mission Impossible-style segment to find the trophy before it was delivered to the hosts.
Interval performances tonight included two Eurovision fan favourites – Finland’s Käärijä and Croatia’s Baby Lasanga, the runner-up acts from the last two contests – duetting in a rap-battle style routine.
There were pro-Palestinian demonstrations in the centre of Basel today to demonstrate against Israel’s inclusion in the contest, while a small group nearby also protested with Israeli flags.
There were also protests within the arena as Yuval Raphael performed, as two people rushed towards a barrier near the stage.
A spokesman for Kan, the Israeli broadcaster, said the protesters were blocked by security officials but the singer was “shaken and upset”. Raphael is a survivor of the Hamas attack on the Nova music festival in Israel in October 2023.
Swiss broadcaster SRG SSR said that at the end of the performance “a man and a woman tried to get over a barrier on to the stage”.
One of the two, the broadcaster said, “threw paint and a crew member was hit”.
The crew member was fine and nobody was injured, the statement added. Swiss police confirmed the two people were handed over to them and later released.
“The police checked the two people and then released them. It is now up to the organiser to decide whether to press charges.”
Protests during the Israeli performance at dress rehearsals for the semi-final show earlier in the week saw large Palestinian flags unfurled as Raphael sang.
The song, New Day Will Rise, was met with cheers and boos in the venue tonight. Commentating for the BBC, Graham Norton said there had been a “mixed response” in the arena.
Norton, who also presented the final in Liverpool in 2023, also commented after the result was announced that the EBU “will be breathing the largest sigh of relief that they’re not faced with a Tel Aviv final next year”.
Earlier, Spain’s public broadcaster aired a message in support of Palestinians ahead of its coverage of the event in spite of being warned in advance by the EBU.
“With regard to human rights, silence is not an option. Peace and justice for Palestine,” the radio and television group RTVE wrote in white on a black background, seconds before the official start of the contest.
The EBU had warned RTVE not to make references to the Gaza war during the broadcast or face punitive fines. That followed remarks made by the Spanish commentators during the broadcast of Thursday’s semi-final.
“Political statements that could compromise the neutrality of the contest are prohibited,” the EBU said in the letter, noting it was “fundamental” that commentators “respect these rules without exception” in all countries broadcasting the contest.
- With reporting from AFP
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